I don't want JP to sell up. How many Chairmen are there nowadays who were born in the same area as the club? I think that's a great asset, as he is bound to have a greater affinity than someone from maybe a completely different part of the World. He will understand the local culture. Someone buying in from abroad, will just see the club as a set of figures on a balance sheet. Nothing more.

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Einstein: A definition of insanity- someone who takes the same action time after time, even though previously it's always ended in failure

As frustrating as I have found him, with his small time attitude, stubbornness and lack of ambition, I would miss Mr Peace. At least our club is on a sound financial footing and looking at some of the other foreign owners I feel very worried!

Fully agree with you. Some of his appointments have smacked of economy but he is a very safe pair of hands and I sing his praises regularly to my Blues and vile friends. I welcome investment but hope he stays fully in control. He is a good man to have at the club.

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What have we done?And what have we becomeIn this distance from our MotherFrom the gates of late Eden?

Fully agree with you. Some of his appointments have smacked of economy but he is a very safe pair of hands and I sing his praises regularly to my Blues and vile friends. I welcome investment but hope he stays fully in control. He is a good man to have at the club.

Fully agree with you. Some of his appointments have smacked of economy but he is a very safe pair of hands and I sing his praises regularly to my Blues and vile friends. I welcome investment but hope he stays fully in control. He is a good man to have at the club.

Agreed. Who's to say he would want to stay though? Feel a bit concerned about this.

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Head honcho of the Electric Boogie Club, purveyors of (mostly) 70's groove music

The worry for me around this whole issue is when you think about why anyone would want to buy the club. I don't understand what would be the plan of any new owner, a club of our size is never going to compete for major league honours as it stands and fair play means owners are no longer to bank roll success. Any new owner cannot come in and throw millions at it (hence the reason the existing elite clubs were so keen on the idea).The club is well run and on a sound footing so will not be cheap, we are not in debt so there won't be any buying the club for a pound situations. This leaves us with a scenario of a potential new owner wanting a football club as a vanity project, to raise the profile of their real business interests or to just simply cream off the TV cash which is on its way. All of these reasons spell risks to our club and if we hear the word "consortium" we should press the panic button!

I would hope he does the appropriate checks on any party he is interested in selling too.

Personally, I'd quite look forward to a potential new ownership but I don't think I will forget the hard work Peace has put into changing our fortunes. We might moan that he is tight and a bit too "over prudent" but there is no doubting that our growth under his stewardship has been enormous.

Bring it on I say. Peace has done a fantastic job and should go down in Albion history, but a billionaire investor is a no brainer. Ok we may end up in the hands of a madman, but it would just add to the rollercoaster ride of being an Albion fan. Would I take a few years of madness (thinking Portsmouth) with the prospect of a dramatic fall from grace? You bet your ar$e I would. Pompey fans are still Pompey fans and I bet most wouldn't change a thing.The most frightening future for me is being Greed League cannon fodder for ever more.

Investments are made for a lot of reasons but most of them dont apply to Football clubs. Growth by acquisition, taking out a competitor etc, getting market access etc. The problem Jezza has, is that as an investment (i.e growth to a prem club and the glories of Sky money) he has milked the club dry. He will walk away from any eventual sale better than any future owner will (and has done a great job imo so I don't begrudge him).

How do you buy us for £40 million and make money? Wages run at such a high percentage of turnover that if you want to keep us in the prem and make the sky money you cannot just stop us spending, we would go down. Asset strip is the only way. Take the 90m and sell off the squad. Nobody can come in, pay £40m and take us to the next step, and make money. We aren't big enough, merchandise and ticket sales will never be a gold mine.

We don't need an investor, we need to be someones play thing, and that can go either way.

Investments are made for a lot of reasons but most of them dont apply to Football clubs. Growth by acquisition, taking out a competitor etc, getting market access etc. The problem Jezza has, is that as an investment (i.e growth to a prem club and the glories of Sky money) he has milked the club dry. He will walk away from any eventual sale better than any future owner will (and has done a great job imo so I don't begrudge him).

How do you buy us for £40 million and make money? Wages run at such a high percentage of turnover that if you want to keep us in the prem and make the sky money you cannot just stop us spending, we would go down. Asset strip is the only way. Take the 90m and sell off the squad. Nobody can come in, pay £40m and take us to the next step, and make money. We aren't big enough, merchandise and ticket sales will never be a gold mine.

We don't need an investor, we need to be someones play thing, and that can go either way.

That is why he struggles to sell.

And I for one thank the heavens for all of that and hope we don't become a play thing

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“We create success or failure on the pitch primarily by our thoughts.”

Jeremy Peace has done a lot of good, and some bad in his time in charge of us. But I for one would love someone to come in, inject some money and push us on to the next level. Like some one said its not just the Oil rich Arabs who want to invest. Look at the Asian market, some very rich Chinese, Indian people. Still very rich Russian, Uzbekistan and Ukraine people.

One group who I wouldn’t like, would be Red Bull, they would almost certainly try to re brand the club, I think Peace wouldn’t sell to them anyway. A US owner is a big possibility. Loads of NFL MLS owners been linked to clubs lately.

Jeremy Peace has done a lot of good, and some bad in his time in charge of us. But I for one would love someone to come in, inject some money and push us on to the next level. Like some one said its not just the Oil rich Arabs who want to invest. Look at the Asian market, some very rich Chinese, Indian people. Still very rich Russian, Uzbekistan and Ukraine people.

One group who I wouldn’t like, would be Red Bull, they would almost certainly try to re brand the club, I think Peace wouldn’t sell to them anyway. A US owner is a big possibility. Loads of NFL MLS owners been linked to clubs lately.

no, what has been said is its very difficult to find anyone who would want to invest.

Bring it on I say. Peace has done a fantastic job and should go down in Albion history, but a billionaire investor is a no brainer. Ok we may end up in the hands of a madman, but it would just add to the rollercoaster ride of being an Albion fan. Would I take a few years of madness (thinking Portsmouth) with the prospect of a dramatic fall from grace? You bet your ar$e I would. Pompey fans are still Pompey fans and I bet most wouldn't change a thing.The most frightening future for me is being Greed League cannon fodder for ever more.

Firstly in part because of Pompey and other complete basket case clubs the FFP regulations have been introduced which have pretty much killed the sugar daddy model. Secondly what the hell did Pompey achieve that was so great that makes up for the fact they are currently languishing in 16th place in the Second Division having nearly gone out of existence? They managed 7 season in the Premier League (we are currently in our 6th) during which time their highest placed finish was 8th and won one FA cup all of which is achievable within a financially prudent framework.

There is nothing to recommend some wealthy but deluded egotist as an owner. If the club cannot sustain Champions League football there is no next level that is worth a mess of beans and I personally hope that whoever turns up next is just as hard boiled as JP who thankfully has no truck with this sort of nonsense.

Jeremy Peace has done a lot of good, and some bad in his time in charge of us. But I for one would love someone to come in, inject some money and push us on to the next level. Like some one said its not just the Oil rich Arabs who want to invest. Look at the Asian market, some very rich Chinese, Indian people. Still very rich Russian, Uzbekistan and Ukraine people.

One group who I wouldn’t like, would be Red Bull, they would almost certainly try to re brand the club, I think Peace wouldn’t sell to them anyway. A US owner is a big possibility. Loads of NFL MLS owners been linked to clubs lately.

Please don't take this the wrong way Jimbo Baggy, but I think you're being very naïve to want "very rich Russian, Uzbekistan and Ukraine people" to take over the club. The majority of these people have made their money in very dodgy ways and I certainly wouldn't want any of them anywhere near my club! As for Red Bull, you would be happy to see Albion rebranded?! Personally, I would much prefer stick to stick with JP even though I earlier loathed the man, I realize now how lucky we are to have someone who isn't splashing the cash and we are run like a proper club should be.

Firstly in part because of Pompey and other complete basket case clubs the FFP regulations have been introduced which have pretty much killed the sugar daddy model. Secondly what the hell did Pompey achieve that was so great that makes up for the fact they are currently languishing in 16th place in the Second Division having nearly gone out of existence? They managed 7 season in the Premier League (we are currently in our 6th) during which time their highest placed finish was 8th and won one FA cup all of which is achievable within a financially prudent framework.

There is nothing to recommend some wealthy but deluded egotist as an owner. If the club cannot sustain Champions League football there is no next level that is worth a mess of beans and I personally hope that whoever turns up next is just as hard boiled as JP who thankfully has no truck with this sort of nonsense.

That's one more FA cup than I have seen in my 40 years.The point I was making was that I would rather have a mad few years than eternal mediocrity and at the end of the day I will support them whatever league they are in, so 'doing a Portsmouth' is not the end of the world.If I had the choice of one night with Angelina Jolie or a lifetime with Edwina Currie, I know which I would take

That's one more FA cup than I have seen in my 40 years.The point I was making was that I would rather have a mad few years than eternal mediocrity and at the end of the day I will support them whatever league they are in, so 'doing a Portsmouth' is not the end of the world.If I had the choice of one night with Angelina Jolie or a lifetime with Edwina Currie, I know which I would take

Good point. Portsmouth have had some great games at Fratton Park with the likes of AC Milan coming to town and no one will ever take the FA Cup win away from them.

Also, their fans are loving it where they are now, visiting new grounds and mixing with proper football people.

That's one more FA cup than I have seen in my 40 years.The point I was making was that I would rather have a mad few years than eternal mediocrity and at the end of the day I will support them whatever league they are in, so 'doing a Portsmouth' is not the end of the world.If I had the choice of one night with Angelina Jolie or a lifetime with Edwina Currie, I know which I would take

Portsmouth are lucky to be alive they have nothing to show for the madness and right now we are as close to winning a trophy as they were during the Gydamack years and what is more as long as we sustain a Premier League presence we will have a better chance than any of the 72 league clubs. The bonkers owner just ratchets up the risk and in most instances delivers very little in short term gain but have a nasty habit of delivering long term pain.

All of which is a pretty irrelevant because the various FFP regulations have killed the sugar daddy model. Now the bonkers owner can't take the club anywhere worth going and are just well bonkers.

Doing a Portsmouth is utterly shameful given the havoc their administrations have caused their local suppliers, from a personal point of view no it would not matter because I would still be a Baggie regardless of the league we were in but I would not want the Albion to run how Portsmouth were and for a few fleeting moments of glory it is not worth it.

PS A lifetime of Edwina Currie nobody should be forced to endure that.

Investments are made for a lot of reasons but most of them dont apply to Football clubs. Growth by acquisition, taking out a competitor etc, getting market access etc. The problem Jezza has, is that as an investment (i.e growth to a prem club and the glories of Sky money) he has milked the club dry. He will walk away from any eventual sale better than any future owner will (and has done a great job imo so I don't begrudge him).

How do you buy us for £40 million and make money? Wages run at such a high percentage of turnover that if you want to keep us in the prem and make the sky money you cannot just stop us spending, we would go down. Asset strip is the only way. Take the 90m and sell off the squad. Nobody can come in, pay £40m and take us to the next step, and make money. We aren't big enough, merchandise and ticket sales will never be a gold mine.

We don't need an investor, we need to be someones play thing, and that can go either way.

That is why he struggles to sell.

I'm not sure an investor would see the football club itself as a significant profit centre. In my opinion, it's the company that we're in, the global audience potential, & the subsequent revenue from advertising a product or service that would make us attractive. The fact that we've acquired an established EPL manager, lowers the risk of any investment capital being lost due to relegation. In my opinion, the additional revenue, as a result of advertising, generated globally from a sustained period in the EPL, and/or Europa League would easily offset any investment costs.

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If it was easy, it wouldn't be Albion

A wise old owl sat in an oak, the more he saw, the less he spokeThe less he spoke the more he heard, why aren't we like that wise old bird?

Swansea City FC, a club much smaller than us, seem to be much further down the road with their attempts to attract foreign investors: WHY?

SWANSEA City Supporters’ Trust are expecting an offer to buy 30 per cent of the club to come in the next few weeks.US billionaire John Moores and associate Charles Noell have held talks with the Swansea hierarchy about the possibility of taking a stake in the Liberty outfit.And though the trust are opposed to the idea of the Americans getting involved, their representative on Swansea’s board of directors, Huw Cooze, believes a deal could happen.“Talks are on-going and there’s nothing on the table yet, no offer,” Cooze told the Press Association.“But I would imagine they would make that offer and be coming in here in the next month or so.“If they do we’ll have to cross that bridge then, but the Americans and our own shareholders know the Supporters’ Trust shares are not for sale.“They never will be and they appreciate that, and we will work with them if it (the deal) happens.”Read more: http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/Swansea-City-Supporters-Trust-expecting-American/story-26033662-detail/story.html#ixzz3RvUHX400

Swansea City FC, a club much smaller than us, seem to be much further down the road with their attempts to attract foreign investors: WHY?

SWANSEA City Supporters’ Trust are expecting an offer to buy 30 per cent of the club to come in the next few weeks.US billionaire John Moores and associate Charles Noell have held talks with the Swansea hierarchy about the possibility of taking a stake in the Liberty outfit.And though the trust are opposed to the idea of the Americans getting involved, their representative on Swansea’s board of directors, Huw Cooze, believes a deal could happen.“Talks are on-going and there’s nothing on the table yet, no offer,” Cooze told the Press Association.“But I would imagine they would make that offer and be coming in here in the next month or so.“If they do we’ll have to cross that bridge then, but the Americans and our own shareholders know the Supporters’ Trust shares are not for sale.“They never will be and they appreciate that, and we will work with them if it (the deal) happens.”Read more: http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/Swansea-City-Supporters-Trust-expecting-American/story-26033662-detail/story.html#ixzz3RvUHX400

From an investors point of view we are virtually identical our operating income is practically the same when we are in the Premier League as are the risks. Maybe the Swans can trade a bit on their "national identity" and having a bigger catchment area could be an advantage but neither is any real advantage to an investor unless they can successfully increase their income stream as a consequence (without making a massive investment to generate it)

I would also point out that talks are one thing and a firm offer is an altogether different matter. Although it is interesting that the parties as being reported as interested are American sports investors which are most likely buyers and I would be surprised if they have not considered other top flight teams or even one or two in the Championship.

I'm not sure an investor would see the football club itself as a significant profit centre. In my opinion, it's the company that we're in, the global audience potential, & the subsequent revenue from advertising a product or service that would make us attractive. The fact that we've acquired an established EPL manager, lowers the risk of any investment capital being lost due to relegation. In my opinion, the additional revenue, as a result of advertising, generated globally from a sustained period in the EPL, and/or Europa League would easily offset any investment costs.

That's sort of my point though. JP will be trying to maximising our commercial revenues. I doubt he is missing some obvious point which would see that income shoot up drastically and even if you could triple our non sky income, its a drop in the ocean compared to the TV money.

You don't spend £40mill (suggesting your worth is in the £200m + brackets) on an investment to make returns of £500,000 per year through increased advertising. Its not a big enough gain.

It's not the advertising revenue though is it? It's the additional products or services sold as a result of a company being associated with a top flight football club, & all of the global exposure. How many addition airline seats do you think Emirates have sold as a result of being associated with Arsenal.

Here's Tata's web site http://www.tata.com. Last year they made a profit of 5.31billion us$ & have assets of 116.32billion us$. They own Jaguar/Landrover, which would give a local connection to us. I'm pretty sure that's why we're doing the work we are in India.Richard Scudamore was saying last week, that the global exposure of the EPL, now makes it an extremely attractive vehicle for Global corporations.

Personally, I think JP wants out, he knows he's taken us as far as he can, but a change of ownership to a global company like Tata would be brilliant for us IMO.

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If it was easy, it wouldn't be Albion

A wise old owl sat in an oak, the more he saw, the less he spokeThe less he spoke the more he heard, why aren't we like that wise old bird?

It's not the advertising revenue though is it? It's the additional products or services sold as a result of a company being associated with a top flight football club, & all of the global exposure. How many addition airline seats do you think Emirates have sold as a result of being associated with Arsenal.

Here's Tata's web site http://www.tata.com. Last year they made a profit of 5.31billion us$ & have assets of 116.32billion us$. They own Jaguar/Landrover, which would give a local connection to us. I'm pretty sure that's why we're doing the work we are in India.Richard Scudamore was saying last week, that the global exposure of the EPL, now makes it an extremely attractive vehicle for Global corporations.

Personally, I think JP wants out, he knows he's taken us as far as he can, but a change of ownership to a global company like Tata would be brilliant for us IMO.

I am pretty sure that Tata or any other global company would not buy us purely to build brand awareness. Sponsorship is one thing ownership is a whole different ball game and unless there was a strategic fit and the prospect of profit it would not not happen.

I think it is easy to overstate the value of the Premier League as a branding vehicle looking at the current shirt sponsors there are only a handful of Global Brands represented and most of those are associated with the top 6 or 7 clubs. If there was real bang for buck in this the smaller teams would be sponsored by global brands rather than obscure betting sites and pay day lenders.

Like it or not any investor will look at the club and the likelihood of making money from it. I can buy a hell of lot of brand awareness for £40m which incidentally is way below the price that JP will be looking for as it is not even equivalent to a year's turnover on the current media contract let alone the next one.